


White Shadow

by yorumi



Category: Free!, xxxHoLic
Genre: Day 7, M/M, crossover AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-10 00:36:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3270182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yorumi/pseuds/yorumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin crosses paths with a most peculiar shop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	White Shadow

There was someone... some _thing_ following him.

When he first noticed, Rin just shrugged it off as his tired eyes playing tricks on him. The shape of a person standing at the corner of a street, a swift movement like a cat, all gone without a trace whenever Rin turned to look properly.

But it kept happening, and Rin had an inkling that it had been going on for a while before he took notice. His second guess was that he'd gotten himself an admirer, too shy to profess her (or his) love. He was the captain of the swim club, and he was rather handsome if he said so himself; that type of character in Gou's manga—that he most definitely did not read—tended to attract attention. He just hoped he wouldn't have to face the awkwardness of an actual confession.

After about a month of the same, it started to feel strange. The prickling at the back of his neck and the sensation that there was something he was forgetting got stronger every time he caught sight of the shadow. In the split second before his eyes focused to find nothing, he could swear that the shape looked familiar, like a childhood memory sitting at the back of his mind.

Rin tried asking Ai and Momo if they had seen anything unusual, but they didn't seem to have noticed anything amiss.

“But I'll keep an eye out, Rin-senpai,” Ai said, looking worried. “I'm sure it's nothing, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.”

“Don't worry, don't worry! If that stalker tries any funny business, they will have to deal with the mighty Mikoshiba Momotarou!” Momo said, striking a pose. Rin almost regretted telling them.

Having more watchful eyes proved to be pretty much useless. Rin kept seeing flashes of nothing, but Momo and Ai never saw anything, and by the time they noticed that Rin had tensed up, it was already too late.

In a moment of weakness, he brought it up with the Iwatobi gang.

“Isn't it obvious? It's a ghost, Rin-chan, a ghost!” Nagisa said, very convinced. “Or a spirit that needs to be exorcised. Or a curse! Is there anyone who might have a grudge for you?”

“A g-g-ghost?” Makoto looked ready to jump underneath the nearest table. “That can't be possible, right?

“Of course it's not possible,” Rei said. “There has to be a logical explanation. If we're really dealing with a stalker, the best course of action would be to inform the police.”

“I am not calling the cops over this,” Rin grumbled.

“Maybe you should set a trap,” Haru suggested.

“A trap?”

“Yes. Leave some food as bait, and when they're distracted, we ambush them.”

“But we don't know what kind of food they like,” Makoto said, hand on his chin. “All we know is that they're following Rin. We don't even know if they actually _like_ him.”

“Should we set Rin-chan as the bait, then?”

Rin buried his face in his palms. “This is ridiculous.”

Gou, who had been silently and seriously observing Rin all the while, spoke up. “Onii-chan, if you ever find yourself on your own in the streets, just call me, okay?”

A part of him was touched—not that he would ever admit it—but really, what did she think he was, a helpless kitten?

In the end, Rin left Haru's place with even less of an idea of how to deal with the issue.

*

Later that week, on his way back to the school grounds, Rin looked across the street to find a house he'd never seen before. Some sort of antique shop, he imagined, but he was pretty sure it hadn't been there the last time he'd passed through this street. There were several piles of artifacts and gadgets mounted in the front yard, that Rin supposed were for sale, and a boy about his age wearing an apron, cleaning and organizing the objects. A woman of indeterminable age stood by the gate, dressed in elegant but dangerously low-cut robes.

Apparently noticing Rin's gaze, she turned to smile and wave cheerfully at him. Not wanting to appear impolite, Rin nodded at her, and then fixed his eyes to the ground in front of him and quickened his step. There was something unnerving about the whole thing, and it wasn't the woman's noteworthy rack.

*

Curiosity got the better of him, and despite his better judgment, Rin took the same route the next day. This time, there was no one at the front, so he stopped to carefully inspect the building. The more he considered it, the more certain he became that this shop hadn't been there before. When had it even been built? It didn't look all that new.

Suddenly, the door opened and there stood the guy from the previous day, peering at him. Shit. Rin must have been there too long. Now that he was closer, Rin could see that the boy had eyes of different colors behind his glasses.

“Excuse me, would you care to come in?” the other one said. “Yuuko-san – my boss says she would like to have a word with you. She might have something that will interest you.”

Rin's whole body was itching for him to say no and to make his way back to the dorms, but at that precise moment, something bolted by the corner of his eye, and there was that fucking shadow again. Rin steeled himself and walked inside.

The boy led him to some sort of living room, with a quaint table and chair set at which the woman was seated, smoking a long pipe.

“Welcome,” she said with a subdued but almost predatory smile. “My name is Ichihara Yuuko. Please have a seat. Watanuki, bring us tea and biscuits.”

“Yes ma'am,” the boy—Watanuki—said, in a distinctly annoyed tone, and left the room. Rin looked at the woman again, and hesitantly sat in front of her.

“Um, Ichihara-san...”

“Call me Yuuko. And your name is?”

“Matsuoka Rin. Er, it's very nice of you to have me, but I'm not interested in buying anything. I live at the school dorms and it's already crowded enough as it is.”

“Good! Those items you saw yesterday are not for sale. We sell other things here. Hmm. Matsuoka Rin, you said? I think it rings a bell...”

Watanuki chose that moment to come back, bearing a loaded tray. He set the teacups and plates and left silently. Rin concentrated on the tea in front of him in order to avoid Yuuko's eyes, hoping that she would state her business without beating around the bush and he could leave as quickly as possible.

“You must be wondering what we do sell.” She waited for him to reply, but when he didn't, she continued. “You see, not everyone can see or enter this shop. Only people with a wish they want granted.”

“You sell wishes? How does that even work? You do whatever people want for money?” Rin said before he could stop himself.

“Not for money, no. I take something of equal value in exchange for the customer's wish. What might your wish be? You feel like an athlete. Maybe you wish to better your physical condition? To shave some seconds off your best time?”

“I don't need to wish for that to make it happen,” Rin said, feeling slightly insulted. “And how would you manage that? Magic doesn't exist.”

Yuuko took a long drag off her pipe, and the room grew hazy with the smoke. “Magic does not exist, correct, but not everything is as it seems. Surely you must have noticed that already. Watanuki over there? All kinds of spirits follow him around, but few can see them, so in the eyes of most people, he often just looks like he's flailing around like a cat.”

A loud bang startled Rin. The door to his left burst open, and in came Watanuki, chasing after a black... cat? Rabbit? Mouse? Some strange critter, holding a bottle of alcohol and screeching what sounded suspiciously like the human language. “It's time for drinking! You won't stop me, Watanuki!”

Watanuki caught the thing, apologized profusely for interrupting them, all flustered, and left again. Rin could feel his jaw somewhere around the vicinity of the floor.

“I... I think I have to go now,” Rin said, standing up.

“Oh, so soon?” Yuuko said. “Well, when you decide what your wish is, you're welcome back any time you want. Wait, you didn't eat any of Watanuki's biscuits! Here, have some. He is a superb cook, you shouldn't miss out on them.”

Rin accepted the napkin, fumbling, and Yuuko called for Watanuki to show him out. Once outside, Rin checked for any suspicious shadows, but the coast was clear.

The way back to the dorms was uneventful. Unconsciously, he started nibbling on the biscuits. Yuuko had been right; these were damn good.

*

It had been a dream, Rin decided. That, or whatever that Yuuko woman had been smoking was hallucinogenic, and it had affected him too. Or there had been something in the tea.

Anyway. He was just going to ignore the encounter, and go on with his normal daily life as if nothing had happened. And also avoid that street from now on.

However, the visits—if one could call it that—from his favorite mysterious shadow grew more frequent. Now it wasn't rare for him to catch the shape on the edge of his vision once or twice a day, and the nagging old memory got more persistent. He couldn't help but think that if he could just catch the shadow, he would finally remember.

He didn't want to acknowledge it, but it was starting to interfere with his normal daily life. It never actually did anything to him, but each day Rin was getting more and more nervous and disconcerted, and the effects began to appear in his studying and swimming. He was always tense during practice, and his teammates could definitely see it.

“Are you all right, Rin-senpai?” Ai approached him one day, after practice. “You don't seem top of your game, lately.”

“That obvious, huh?” Rin sighed, wiping his forehead. “Sorry. I'll try to keep my head up at least during training, you don't need to worry.”

“Is this about the... the stalker? Are they still bothering you? Maybe you should really go to the police...”

But Rin knew the cops would just laugh at him. What were they going to do, arrest the goddamned shadow, when no one but Rin could see it? Give him a bodyguard? Now that would be a sight. A real fucking hoot, if you asked him.

No, he knew what the best course of action was, although it crashed with his previous resolution. If he was really dealing with the supernatural here, he would have to fight it with supernatural weapons. That meant he would have to pluck up his courage again, ignore the sheer absurdity of the situation, and go ask Yuuko to get rid of the shadow, or at least to tell him what it was and what it wanted from him. Maybe he'd even get to find out what it was that he'd been trying to remember.

So Rin worked himself up and headed towards the shop that Friday, half-hoping and half-dreading to find it there again. First thing he saw was Watanuki at the gate, wearing his apron and an irritated expression. He was talking to a guy sporting a black school uniform, who seemed awfully familiar.

Watanuki spotted Rin and instantly changed his expression to a polite smile. “Matsuoka-san! It's good to see you again. If you're looking for Yuuko-san, she is out for work right now, but she should be back soon. Ah, this is Doumeki. Doumeki, this is Matsuoka-san.”

Rin and Doumeki nodded at each other. Rin was sure he had never seen the guy before, and yet... Tall, dark, a stoic expression. Distinctive vibes of the 'strong and silent' type. “Excuse me, have we met somewhere?” Rin asked him.

“...I don't think so,” Doumeki replied, and no, that voice was all wrong. Different. But different from what?

“Matsuoka-san, if you would like to come inside to wait for Yuuko-san–”

“So you've come, Matsuoka Rin,” Rin heard from behind his back. He turned around to find Yuuko, looking... not precisely bad, but not in top shape either. “I've remembered where I heard that name, but I'm afraid I can't spare time for you today. Come back tomorrow – no, on Sunday. It was a Sunday back then too. Let's go, Watanuki.”

And with those cryptic words, she disappeared inside the shop. Watanuki bowed hurriedly to Rin and followed her in, Doumeki trailing after him. Rin was left standing outside the shop, alone and befuddled.

*

Rin woke up early on Sunday, just when the sun was starting to rise. He lay there, alone in his dorm room, trying to decide whether it was too early to visit the shop, and got out of the bed not much later. If it was still closed, he could wait outside.

But he needn't have worried. As soon as he arrived, he was received by Yuuko herself, looking grave. She took him to the same room as the first time he'd been here.

“Have you realized what your wish is, then?” she said, readying her pipe.

“There's... something following me. I don't know if it's human, a spirit, or whatever, but I want to get rid of it.”

“Why?”

“Huh?” The question took him by surprise.

“Did it ever try to attack you? Was it ever aggressive or hostile? Did you consider even for a moment that it might be a benign, protective presence?”

Rin frowned. “No, it never attacked me. But it distracts me, and I keep worrying that...”

“That it will harm you, or that it will disappear?”

Damn. This woman really knew how to ask the hardest questions. Rin's scowl deepened.

“That thing that is following you...” Yuuko said, not looking at Rin in the eye, “is a previous costumer of mine. And his wish involved you.”

Rin whipped his neck so fast that it almost hurt. “What?!”

“If you want more information, it will cost you. One second of your racing time will do.”

“If I keep training the way I've been doing up till now, will I be able to get it back?”

“Oh, you really are a pragmatist,” she smiled. “Or too much of an idealist; sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. Yes, you will be able to recover it.”

“Fine then,” he said, and she waved her pipe in a subtle motion. Rin felt a strange warmth for a second, but then it went away and he felt no different from before.

“My customer was someone you knew well. He had a secret he didn't want you to find out about, and came to me when it became difficult to keep it from you. The price... his price was to disappear from your life.”

“...Isn't that too much?” Rin asked, his brow furrowing.

“It was the adequate price for his wish.” She paused. “He must have really wanted to keep it a secret from you.”

“Can I wish to get my memories back? To undo it?”

“Yes. But the price will be much higher than what you just gave me, and you need to consider that there might be a good reason why he didn't want you to find out.”

Rin didn't need to think about it even for a second. “I want to remember. As for the price... will you accept the memories of my father?”

“Your biggest motivation... Yes, that will do nicely. We have a deal, Matsuoka Rin.”

*

Rin left the shop in a daze, wondering if he had dreamed it all. But there, in the corner of the street, was the familiar shape he'd been seeing, made solid and tangible. A tall and muscular young man, looking at him with a serious expression.

Sousuke. He remembered.

“You're an idiot, Rin.”

“You're even more of an idiot, you moron,” Rin said, trying and failing to choke back his tears. “I knew. About your shoulder. I already knew.”

Sousuke brought up a hand to softly wipe at Rin's cheek. “I'm sorry,” he whispered, and that was all that needed to be said.

Rin caught Sousuke's hand in his, and together they walked away from a shop they could no longer see.


End file.
